Journals: magic

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Child Psychologists will tell you that kids relate best to other kids and that’s why they’re drawn to puppies and kittens and other creatures of limited vocabularies but an abundance of physically affectionate expression. Fairy tales and comic books about animals or mythical creatures with human attributes continue this special relationship into childhood understandings about the complex world that’s often overwhelming them. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Pokemon characters have the “magical” ability to impart life lessons in a way that adult authoritarian figures do not.

The flipside of this positive process is the still prevalent belief in “familiars”–malevolent spiritual helpers in animal or other guise (black cats in particular) who assist witches and necromancers in their dirty deeds. Some churches condemn fairy tales and “Harry Potter”–type popular fictions because they supposedly disarm children to the very real threat of demonic influences being transmitted through talking pets and other invitingly happy, magical creatures and semi-human beings.

As adults we don’t necessarily give up our magical creatures. Some of us believe there couldn’t possibly be so much smoke without there being at least a little fire somewhere when it comes to vampires, werewolves and zombies. Then there’s our desire to believe rare eyewitness reports and grainy photo evidence (the Abominable Snowman, Sasquatch, Loch Ness Monster). The yearning for living fire–breathing dragons and unicorns to exist in our world are hard for many children to relinquish. The existence of a Faerie race is taken as a hard fact in certain parts of the world. It seems that no matter our age or circumstance we are beings always wishing for the special wisdom (or notoriety) of acquaintances with special powers.

When recently asked how his political candidate would explain certain positions taken during the nomination process with contrary positions to be taken during the general election, the campaign chief replied that stated political positions were “like an Etch A Sketch,”—meaning they could simply be flipped over, erased and begun over from scratch.

Were it that adult life were as simple as a happy Etch A Sketch memory from childhood.

(The campaign chief took heavy heat for his flippant, if truthful, statement.) The incident made me wonder how many of us had early experiences as “sketch artists” with that incredible red toy that has become almost standard issue for so many children still to this day.

For those unfamiliar with the magical plastic slate, an Etch A Sketch is filled with aluminum powder which scraped off a glass screen with a simple stylus operated by the artist (one knob controls horizontal, one vertical—the true artistry comes in the dual knob operation required for curved lines). The art itself is fleeting, a simple flipping over of the tablet makes polystrene beads re-coat the glass “canvas” surface with the aluminum powder. Like so many, I spent many an hour engrossed in trying to produce ever more evocative works from that simple art machine, forever trying to learn that perfect touch to get the curved lines right.

We house an incredible array of line art drawings on deviantART that are pure amazement of detail and meticulous design. There is a natural thread that flows through the first workings of an Etch a Sketch beginner through to the mastery of beautiful sketch or line drawing by a skilled artist.

It’s with greatest pleasure that I introduce Jane (pikajane), one of deviantART's most talented Etch A Sketch artists. She creates masterful portraits and stunningly accurate fan art, all by deftly turning those two knobs on that small plastic box that frustrated so many of our childhoods. Her efforts have earned her a deviantART Creative Grant -- a program providing a source of funding to allow artists to make their creative dreams a reality. Jane plans to use her deviantART Creative Grant to create two installations to be displayed in galleries. The first installation will be a life-size rendition of a skeleton, using multiple Etch A Sketches mounted to a wall. The second installation will be a 3-dimensional piece using a skeleton as a base for several mounted Etch A Sketches, which will act as a sort of "reverse x-ray." She's already hard at work on this project, purchasing Etch A Sketches and depicting various parts of the skeleton. In this interview, she talks about working with her chosen medium, her plans for future projects, and gives tips to aspiring Etch A Sketch artists.

I started playing with an etch a sketch when I was about 4, and as a child I didn't realize there was anything special about being able to create anything more than rudimentary shapes. It started as a toy I loved to tinker with, but throughout my life it has grown into a passion. I love painting and drawing and working digitally, but there is something truly special about creating art on an etch a sketch for me.

Can you sense who is going to immediately “get” your art and who will be less receptive; i.e., does the medium being viewed first as a child’s toy block some people’s ability to appreciate the quality of the art?

Yes! There are definitely some that are more receptive to my art than others. Sometimes I feel as though people will respond the same to my etch a sketch art no matter what I etch. I have to keep myself in check so that I don't get complacent--I always want to keep improving!

I have a few project ideas I'd love to pursue. Lately I've been wanting to create images using multiple etch a sketches, so that when you set them next to each other, the individual screens comprise the full image. I am doing this with a few etch a sketches for the skeleton project, but I'd also love to try this with some famous paintings. I also have a few series ideas running in my mind, but nothing has been fully planned yet. If I could work on an ultimate etch a sketch instillation, I think it would be a mural made entirely out of etch a sketches.

First and foremost, practice practice practice! Everyone has to start at the basics. Even I did when I first started playing with an etch a sketch. The only reason I got where I am today as an etch a sketch artist is because I have put a lot of practice into my passion. And the more you play with an etch a sketch, the easier it gets.

To everyone that would love to start etching, here's a few tips for how to improve your skills:

Practice basic shapes, starting with the square. When you turn both knobs at once at the same speed, you get a diagonal line. When you turn them both at varying speeds, you get a curve. A circle is the hardest basic shape to etch because it is made up of 4 curves. If you learn to make a circle, you're doing very well, but don't stop there! Once you master the basic shapes, try out drawing your favorite cartoon character. I started with cartoons, and moved to realism.

If you ever get frustrated, remember that like any form of art, etch a sketching takes time and patience. It took me years to get where I am today, but I believe that with determination and passion, you too can master the knobs.

QuestionsFor the Reader

Do you think there have there been other toys that have sparked and encouraged as much childhood creativity as Etch A Sketch?

If you ever created with an Etch A Sketch did the frustration you experienced trying to draw on Etch A Sketch teach you discipline and practice are important in creating art … or just made you wonder if you had what it takes to be a dedicated artist?

Do you detect a natural evolution from Etch A Sketch to something like Muro?

Do you still own an Etch A Sketch, or was it long ago consigned its fate to that of Citizen Kane’s beloved sled?

Science was doing such an admirable job for humanity until the guys and gals in lab coats committed an unspeakable act in 1988: The National Center for Atmospheric Research photographed two identical snowflakes. That last certain evidence of real life magic in the world finally fell, debunked. And now I can never again in good conscience pass along to a child that most amazing factoid that amazed me when I was assured as a child: “No two snowflakes are ever alike.” Turns out that whole perfect six–fold radial symmetry of snowflakes hype is also a hoax. The symmetry is never perfect. In fact, less than 0.1% of snowflakes come in ideal six–fold symmetric shapes. OK, already, I get it. “Science marches on.” But snowflakes are still exquisitely beautiful. They can never take that away from me.

It’s been over 30 years since the original “My Little Pony” (a.k.a. “MLP”) franchise made its debut and its following has never been stronger.

The 2010 reboot by Lauren Faust (fyre-flye), “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic,” had its start on DeviantArt where Lauren originally posted the early concept art which would later evolve into the ponies we know and love today. Little did she know that her early concepts and her love of “My Little Pony” would start a cultural phenomenon that would take on a life of its own.

From the onset, Lauren created “MLP” with the intention of breaking the stereotypes long plaguing “girls’ shows,” by putting an end to the dismissive manner in which these “silly and stupid” shows were being produced. Why couldn’t a children’s show have well-defined characters with different skills, unique dreams, human flaws and diverse personalities?

Meet “The Mane 6”

“Twilight Sparkle” is a dedicated student who enjoys reading and learning new things. “Applejack” is an entrepreneur who runs her family’s farm and knows the value of hard work. “Rarity” is a creative designer with a passion for fashion who runs her own boutique. “Rainbow Dash” is a driven athlete who is always pushing her boundaries and aiming for the gold. “Fluttershy” is a kind and nurturing soul who takes care of and nurses woodland critters. And “Pinkie Pie” is the life of the party, bringing cheer wherever she goes. Each also possesses one of the powerful “Elements of Harmony” or ‘Elements of Friendship” (Applejack: honesty; Rarity: generosity; Rainbow Dash: loyalty; Fluttershy: kindness; Pinkie Pie: laughter; and Twilight Sparkle: magic) that when combined create one of the strongest sources of magic in Equestria. Their friendship is not ony magic, but a superpower that helps protect the pony world against all evils.

The Elements Of Feminism

My Little Pony is part of a growing trend in entertainment to finally acknowledge and accomodate the female viewer, girl or woman, and create stories they want to see. And the best part is “My Little Pony” provides entertainment that’s not the standard cut and dried simplistic mush, but built on morally complicated storylines. The team behind the show has taken pride in creating a “children’s show” that’s several cuts above and respected their audience as intelligent human beings.

“My Little Pony” is teaching young girls - and adults - real life lessons about what true friendship is. Twilight and her friends are able to touch on important topics such as bullying, social skills, and acceptance for those who are different than you, while never detracting from being an amusing and entertaining show. Feminine stereotypes have been banished from Equestria and individuality instead is embraced and celebrated. The show’s main characters are six distinct types of females who all become friends and learn to work together to solve different problems in each episode, teaching girls that different types of personalities can be friends. At the same time, the show’s appeal goes far beyond its target audience of young girls.

Fandom Is Magic

“MLP’s” universal themes, imbued with positivity and kindness, have spread like wildfire, touching the lives of girls, boys, women, and men. Fans of the show, known as Bronies (male fans) and Pegasisters (female fans), have created a strong international community that thrives both online and at “My Little Pony” conventions. People are rallying around the central idea of the show that a group of friends, a community, can make a difference in the world for the better. The “My Little Pony” community is one of the friendliest and most welcoming fandoms to be found in the world. Bronies’ and Pegasisters’ love of “My Little Pony” has inspired them to create things such as original music, online communities, cosplays, and you guessed it, fan art!

ALRIGHT, EVERYPONY! Grab your party cannon and get ready to travel to Ponyville for a Grand Galloping Gala of fan art that is definitely 20% cooler.

There was a period of time in the life of deviantART where enormous pressure was placed on our team for an extended period of time that exceeded the concept of high stress, commitment, determination and above average will.

In some circles it is recognized that start-up companies go through perhaps their most challenging pains in year two and three. If you've made it that far in a start-up, the idea is good, the business has reached some amount of validation and what you're left with is the challenge and responsibility of seeing it through its most formative years.

At deviantART we faced this challenge with no outside capital, we relied entirely upon our gracious and hugely supportive and loyal community to help us through the most trying of times. And to be blunt we relied upon and tested the raw guts of our core leaders in the company to take charge of a few critical areas and to perform for deviantART above and beyond any other responsibilities.

From my personal perspective two names in particular were the knights in shining armor within this team during that exact time period. There was chris our chief architect whose determination and sheer capacity to handle the most challenging horror of a 60-hour work day, cycle after cycle for months on end. And there was spot who has since coined the internal pet name of "The Magic Man."

I can't find the words in me to illustrate this situation properly but I'll give it a shot. Spot's start here was for almost no pay, living in his cousin's closet. It wasn't even a walk-in closet it was just a closet with a sleeping bag on the floor. A 40-hour work day was average, the stress was so intense you could feel it directly deducting hours from your life. The kind of effort that you can't ask somebody for. They either have that drive and that passion or they don't.

spot was there any time day or night for deviantART under circumstances that are hard to understand. But what's more to this and why it is my privilege to write this official departure note is that he was very much there for me. A critical force of balance and a direct force on the matters that spelled the difference between success and failure.

If you ever wanted a good example of a guy who could take the most intense heat and see it through, as they say. You have no idea.

You have no idea. In fact, I don't think I'd wish it on you to have such insight.

At some point last year spot approached me about a concept he had for a company he wanted to start with the experience and knowledge he had gained while here along with his past and present experiences.

It takes guts to start a new venture, so as you can imagine I wasn't worried.

I look forward to a continued friendship with spot and once his new project is launched he'll have our full support here at deviantART.

I'm not so good with farewells, spot remains an adviser for a time to come so he isn't really too far from us.

A Community Wide Thank You

I'd like to request a warm farewell for spot if you feel so inclined. Drop by his user page, send him some and and well wishing on his new project. Also please +heart this news article.

The official tag of "The Magic Man" will be applied to spot's user account. But in the books as far as I'm concerned he will also go down as an Honorary Co-Founder of deviantART.

The final installment, pages 135 and 136, are here. Thank you all for sticking with me to the end.

P.S. Happy Birthday, sis!

If you are enjoying The Night the Magic Died, here are some other comics you might enjoy: A collaboration between myself and my sister, , that we started in 2,005, and finished in 2,010 A dark-fantasy comic by my sister, . It is absolutely amazing. Go check it out, now. Seriously.

Also, follow me on twitter! My handle is @Eroffie.

See you around the internet!

Featured Art

Pictures drawn by some very sweet people. Go show them some love!

About this project (Original Entry Posted on August 2nd, 2012):

On a whim, sometime a little over a year ago, I discovered and watched an episode of a cartoon called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Finding it was to my liking, I started watching each episode as it came out. It was fun, some episodes I liked more than others, but never was there one that disappointed me.

Come the finale of Season 2, I was, to put it most sweetly, inspired. I wrote a fanfic, venting my rage expressing my excitement about the season finale and the events leading up to it. I talked about it with my friends, I even got the fanfic polished to a point where it was almost presentable.

That was about two months ago, and now, I present to you my webcomic adaptation of my fanfic: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: The Night the Magic Died! If you're a fan of FiM as well, Don't let the title frighten you. It all turns out okay, but there will be a trip through hell and back to take on the way.

I will be posting this on DeviantArt and Furaffinity, two pages a week, starting today!

I will be using this journal as a page index, and as a nook where I will try to answer any questions you may have, etc.

Ever get tired of typing :D, only to find ( ^^ ) staring you down once you hit submit? Or how about :X becoming ( >^< )? Are you wondering how I managed to type up that example without its own point thwarting me? Well, here's the secret:

:<b></b>D

YES! IT IS THAT SIMPLE!

Now, all of you, stop whining that dA stole your ability to use your favourite smiley. There's no longer any need for your complaining.

ostit: Note: You could also use <a></a>, <i></i>, <u></u>, or even <abbr></abbr>. Any closing-tag-dependent HTML tag would work.

Is that all this is good for?

Absolutely not! Just look around! You can use this method to get around just about any code that deviantART's parsing system renders differently.For example: my, well, examples! How did I get "<b></b>" to render that way?

Well, when you send a packet of data to deviantART, it goes through and searches the incoming source code for certain sequences, such as emoticon codes, and so, obviously, when it sees ":<b></b>D", it doesn't think of ":D". Then, after it's swept through and caught the emoticon codes, it searches again for HTML, at which point the "<b></b>" is stripped. So, in the end, you get ":D".

Disclaimer: This section was, for the most part, guess work. I could be wrong, but it's just technical jargon; who cares? :U

Trees have always been something more than just plants to the mankind. The worship of trees might be forgotten, but still the symbol of tree survives in our subconscious. Almost every nation has myths and legends about trees, placing the tree as the central axis of the world, or worshipping it as a dwelling place of gods or spirits, the giver of knowledge, connection between worlds or as ancestors of the tribe.

In Norse mythology, a giant ash tree - Yggdrasil - represents "axis mundi", around which the 9 worlds (the world of people - Middle-earth, being one of them) are organized. A giant snake, Níðhöggr, gnaws at its roots, but they always grow anew.

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The biblical Tree of Knowledge has even some similarities to Yggdrasil. The snake is present, also, and although presented in a negative light, the tree is a giver of knowledge.... Just like in the myth about Yggdrasil when the god Odin sacrificed himself, hanging on the tree for nine days, to learn the secrets of knowledge.

After his sacrifice, Odin learned the runes, and brought them to the people. This is another important role of the tree as a giver of script. In Celtic tradition, the entire alphabet, ogham is based on trees, one tree representing one letter. It was used mostly for magical purposes, like divination.

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Dryads are tree spirits in Greek mythology. Technically speaking, dryads are the nymphs of oak trees, but the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general.

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A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Found in many cultures around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities springing up in different cultures throughout the ages. Primarily it is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, or "renaissance," representing the cycle of growth each spring.

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In Eastern tradition, trees also play an important role, connected with the "giver of knowledge" myth. It was the Bodhi Tree, that Buddha was sitting under, when he achieved the enlightenment. It was a Fig tree, and its descendant still grows in the Mahabodhi Temple, now over 2.000 years old.

While redwoods are the biggest trees in the world, the first place in circumference belongs to another tree. It is the Tule tree (Taxodium mucronatum) in Santa Maria del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico with the circumference of 54 m.

The world's oldest living trees are the b>Bristlecone Pines</b> (Pinus longaeva). The oldest tree, named Methuselah, was discovered in the White Mountains in eastern California and is over 4.800 years old.

The possibility of trees to make clonal systems, however, can change our perception of their age. Pando (or The Trembling Giant) is a clonal colony of a single male Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) located in Utah, all determined to be part of a single living organism by identical genetic markers and one massive underground root system. The root system of Pando is claimed by some to be among the oldest known living organisms in existence at 80.000 years of age.

When facing these facts, it is not a wonder that trees have been worshipped. It's a pity that so many amazing trees have fallen, having no place in the "modern" age. The more we should value the ones that remain...

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Some more amazing pictures of trees, showing that the symbol of a tree still remains in the human mind, and is mirrored in art

And also fractals, because a tree is a natural fractal in its structure, repating its form on many levels.

I hope you enjoyed the article, found some great pictures, and learned something new. It is just a short compilation of the amazing topic of trees in mythology, and if you want to know more, I will gladly answer any questions.